Many automotive service stations which vend gasoline and diesel fuel to motor vehicles have been, or are being, converted to "self-service" facilities wherein the purchaser of gasoline or diesel fuel operates the dispensing pump himself and pays the attendent after the desired amount of fuel has been dispensed into his motor vehicle.
Many of these "self-service" facilities are equipped with delivery nozzles which do not include automatically releasing catches for latching the delivery nozzle trigger levers in "open" positions. As a result, persons dispensing gasoline or diesel fuel into their own vehicles must continually maintain the spring biased trigger lever of the dispensing nozzle depressed in order to prevent premature termination of the dispensing of fuel from the nozzle when they wish to fill their fuel tanks. Accordingly, a need exists for a portable fuel nozzle trigger lever prop which may be interposed between the trigger lever of the nozzle and the adjacent parallel trigger guard portion of the nozzle in order to maintain the trigger lever depressed until the tank of the associated vehicle is substantially full.
While various forms of props have been heretofore provided, few, if any, have been specifically designed for use in conjunction with a fuel delivery nozzle. Further, many previously provided props are too great in length for use in a desired manner in conjunction with a fuel delivery nozzle and are not adjustable in length whereby the rate of fuel flow through the nozzle may be determined. Accordingly, the need for a prop to be utilized in conjunction with a fuel delivery nozzle includes the need for a short prop which is adjustable in length.
Various forms of props designed for different purposes and including some of the structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 118,698, 430,012, 932,162, 1,014,688 and 3,355,136.